3 Ways to Grow Gratitude in Your Company

Gratitude, as you know and we’ve written before , is one of the most powerful leadership tools available. It has the potential to build a better employee experience, make the workplace more humane, strengthen connections and build resilience in times of uncertainty like these.

But it won’t happen on its own, reminds Richard Huffman, founder and CEO of Celebree School, a daycare and preschool provider. The CEO has to model the behavior if they want it to take hold. In a new piece for Chief Executive, he shares three techniques he uses to instill gratitude in the workplace :

• Understand. “Meet people where they are, care about them on and off the clock, and provide them with an environment where they can express themselves. Building an understanding of your employees’ preferences is a vital first step before introducing gratitude practices that assume everyone wants the same thing.”
• Engage. “Once you figure out what your employees appreciate and how they emotionally operate, the sky is the limit. Don’t wait for a big deal to happen before you start expressing gratitude. Bring the practice into everyday tasks and leave room for employee feedback. I’ve attempted to demonstrate gratitude in a variety of ways at Celebree, from small gestures like hand-written cards, to office outings, and even tickets to sporting events. Don’t hesitate on the execution. There will certainly be some trial and error as to what resonates—just be sure to monitor response, impact and be open to feedback.”
• Quality, not quantity. Forcing people to be grateful doesn’t work and can make the expression feel unauthentic. Try to create the time and space that foster the voluntary, spontaneous expression of gratitude. You can do this by remaining authentic and present. When you are specific about the benefits of a person, action or thing, it increases your own appreciation—and it tells a person that you are paying attention, rather than just going through the motions.

“At the end of the day, the expression of gratitude costs nothing and only requires a commitment to do so,” writes Huffman. “When a leader prioritizes sincere and consistent expressions of appreciation, they are creating a robust culture of gratitude in the workplace. In turn, you’ll see the direct impact on your bottom line because your people know you?care, they?matter, and the work they are doing is having a?real impact.” And that, in turn, is going to have a big impact on your business. Have a good weekend. Read the full article >

— Dan Bigman, editor, Chief Executive.

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